ARTICLE
13 January 2025

Penalties For DHS Immigration-Related Violations Rise Again In 2025

LM
Littler Mendelson

Contributor

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As required under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, the Department of Homeland Security Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE)...
United States Immigration

As required under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, the Department of Homeland Security Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), through the Federal Register, announced increases for penalties under the Immigration Reform & Control Act (IRCA), effective January 2, 2025. The higher penalties are for those cases where the penalties are assessed on February 13, 2024, and thereafter. These increases were about 1%, which is similar to the 2024 increases due to inflation.

Below are the offenses with the old and new penalties:

Type of IRCA Violation

Old Fine

New Fine

Substantive Form I-9 violations – minimum

$281

$288

Substantive Form I-9 violations – maximum

$2,789

$2,861

Knowingly employing undocumented – 1st order

$698 to $5,579

$716–$5,724

Knowingly employing undocumented – 2nd order

$5,579 to $13,946

$5,724–$14,308

Knowingly employing undocumented – subsequent

$8,369 to $27,894

$8,586–$28,619

Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((1)-(4)) – 1st order

$575 to $4,610

$590–$4,730

Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((1)-(4)) –subsequent order

$4,610 to $11,524

$4,730–$11,823

Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((5)-(6)) – 1st order

$487 to $3,887

$500–$3,988

Document Fraud (USC 1324c(a)((5)-(6)) – subsequent order

$3,887 to $9,718

$3,988-$9,970

Prohibition of indemnity bonds

$2,789

$2,861

With an expected surge in ICE I-9 audits and ICE raids, employers should pay careful attention to their I-9 forms and conduct an internal I-9 audit to remediate, as much as possible, any I-9 errors. Such an internal I-9 audit could save an employer substantial money if audited by ICE.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

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